Even more impressive are his 17.8% swinging-strike rate and 38.4% opponents’ chase rate on pitches off the plate - top-of-the-scale numbers that rank sixth and 14th, respectively, among the 338 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 30 innings during the 2023 season. He’s fanned a hefty 31.1% of his opponents, issued walks at a slightly better-than-average 8.3% clip and racked up grounders at a huge 56.4% rate. There’s far more to like about Middleton than a simple resurgence in velocity. Middleton averaged 94.8 mph with his heater in a short look with the D-backs last year but is back up to 96 mph in 2023 - much healthier and much closer to the 96.8 mph he averaged with the Angels prior to surgery. That’s a solid number on its own, but the underlying numbers are even more encouraging. It’s only 32 innings of work so far, but the right-hander owns a tidy 3.09 ERA on the season.
And perhaps that was indeed the initial plan, but Middleton has become an indispensable member of the bullpen and emerged as a legitimate trade chip. Even when the Sox selected him to the 40-man roster in mid-April, at a time when both Hendriks and Kelly were on the injured list, it seemed like he could just be a short-term stopgap until the Sox got healthier. Middleton hadn’t had big league success since his initial run with the Angels in 2017-19 and looked like a pure depth move. It was a minor league deal for a reliever issued by a club that had several high-priced veterans in the bullpen ( Liam Hendriks, Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly, Aaron Bummer, Jake Diekman). As such, he’s a pure rental on a fourth-place White Sox team whose GM has been candid about the team’s chances and the possibility of selling at the deadline.Īt the time of his signing, Middleton didn’t command much attention. Middleton collected five years of service time prior to the 2023 season - much of it coming on the Major League injured list - despite entering the current season with just 143 2/3 big leagues innings under his belt.
R yankees free#
Fans of other clubs, however, may have never had Middleton on their radars and might be surprised to learn that he’s in his final season of club control and will be a free agent this winter. 1, it’s extraordinarily likely Keynan Middleton will be traded.Īngels fans are surely familiar with the 29-year-old Middleton, who looked like a bullpen mainstay in Anaheim earlier in his career before injuries - most notably Tommy John surgery - derailed his trajectory. Across town, the White Sox had similarly good fortune in minor league free agency, but there’s no question of how they’ll proceed in the coming weeks.Īt some point between now and Aug. They could sell high or hold onto him in hopes that the breakout is both legitimate and sustainable into his mid-30s. a breakout reliever at age 32 with three years of remaining club control beyond the current season. Earlier in the week, I took a look at how the Cubs had scored big in minor league free agency and are now left with the quandary of what to do with Mark Leiter Jr.
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